


Winter Mornings

by moretrash



Series: Teaching Your Local Deviant Android About Feelings [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Father-Son Relationship, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hypothermia, I found out that saint bernards can weigh up to 260 pounds and I was shook, Kind of it's like the android version of it, Worried Hank Anderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 19:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15371484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moretrash/pseuds/moretrash
Summary: Connor goes out to invesitgate a case early in the morning.Unfortunately, he didn't dress appropriately for the snow.





	Winter Mornings

If anyone asked Hank, he would say that he absolutely hated winter with every fiber of his being. When it snowed, he would crank the heater up in his house and avoid leaving under any circumstances unless it was to go to work. 

That was, of course, until he met Connor.

Connor, the android sent by Cyberlife to assist him with his investigation into deviants. Connor, who became a deviant himself. Connor, who had shown up at his door two days after the successful android demonstration, claiming that he needed a place to stay, just for three nights at most, because he didn’t trust himself to be in Jericho after the disaster of Cyberlife taking over his programming again. Connor, the one person Hank didn’t mind having around when three nights turn into a week, weeks turning into a month. 

Connor, who was so enraptured by snow that, if Hank hadn’t known better, he would have mistaken the android for a child after the yell of “Lieutenant! Come quick, it’s snowing!” one December morning.

Hank found himself going outside with Connor and Sumo and play in the freshly fallen snow. ‘Playing’, meaning Connor and Sumo building snowmen and forts while Hank watched from the porch just because he was too cold to join in, not because he wanted to make sure Connor didn’t slip and hurt himself on ice, not at all.

Now, if anyone asked Hank, he would say he was neutral on the subject of winter. The cold still bit at him uncomfortably, but seeing Connor so happy was a precious thing to witness.

-

It was mid January, much too early in the morning for anything to be awake. Well, too early if you weren’t an android that lived with the one and only lieutenant Hank Anderson.

Connor didn’t need to sleep, no androids needed to sleep. The only androids that Connor knew of that regularly slept were the YK500 models, which went to bed each night to give parents the experience of tucking a child into bed. As a result, he found himself restless every night after Hank retired to bed. He would watch TV, but nothing really interested him. He would take Sumo for walks at midnight, but that was much too stressful for Connor who, even with his enhanced seeing and hearing, never knew what lurked in the dark and walked around in fear of a random mugging or anti-android assault. So, those had been put to a stop rather early on in his stay.

So, at 4 AM, when Connor looked out the window and saw an inch and a half of snow on the ground, he took the chance to be active. He rushed outside, Sumo in tow, diving into the snow. He balled it up and worked to make it into a perfect sphere, which was quiet enough and kept him entertained while not waking the neighbors at such an ungodly hour. 

Hank, however, was very confused when he woke up when it was still dark outside, hearing a dog occasionally boofing, and a voice softly saying, “Shshsh, you’re going to wake people up!” He got up and shuffled over to his window, peeking out. He had to blink several times to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming and that he was actually seeing Connor, sitting in the snow, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants that were much too big for him as they were borrowed from Hank, and his dog. Hank opened his window, cringing at the cold air that wafted through.

“Connor! What the hell are you doing? It’s 4 in the goddamn morning!” Hank asked. Connor jumped and turned to face him.

“I was bored, Hank.” Connor said. Sumo boofed again and padded over to the door to be let in. Connor got up and followed the dog in, sitting down on the couch. 

“Ah, fuck, we have a case.” Hank mumbled as he glanced at his phone and saw a voicemail. Connor perked up and smiled politely.

“I can go and see to it for right now if you wish to sleep longer.” Connor affered. Hank smiled and laughed softly.

“Knock yourself out, kid. It’s at the park. According to the voicemail, it’s a man that was suspected to be killed by an android.” Hank said. Connor nodded and reached over, grabbing his android uniform. He wasn’t an official detective yet, but he still occasionally helped on cases. 

“Alright. I’ll see you later.” Connor said, going and changing into the suit and leaving the house. Hank had to remind himself that androids didn’t feel cold to resist the urge to drag Connor back inside and bundling him up in clothing that was much better suited to the freezing temperatures. 

-

“Great, the plastic prick is here.” Was the first thing that greeted Connor when he arrived at the crime scene. He looked around and smiled politely when he spotted detective Gavin Reed, looking to be in a much worse mood than usual considering that it wasn’t even daylight yet and it was 15 degrees outside. 

“Good morning, detective Reed. I hope this can be solved quickly so that you and everyone else here and get back to warmth.” Connor said. Gavin rolled his eyes and gestured over to the dead body.

“Over there. Get this over with quickly if you’re any good.” He said. Connor brushed the comment off without responding, understanding that it wasn’t an ideal situation. He moved over to the dead body and crouched down, already running analysis.

“He didn’t die because of his wounds.” Connor spoke up after a moment.

“That fuck do you mean? He was shot in the chest.” Gavin said, gesturing to the gunshot wound in question. Connor shook his head.

“No. He was shot, yes, but it didn’t hit any organs or arteries or anything important. He collapsed because of the wound, yes, but he actually died of hypothermia. If he hadn’t sustained the wound, he would have made it to shelter before hypothermia set in.” Connor explained.

“So who gave him the gunshot wound?” Gavin asked.

“Well, he’s ruled out. The angle of the shot is physically impossible to do to yourself. A android is definitely a personality, there are traces of thirium.” Connor said. 

“No there isn’t.” Gavin said.

“Actually, yes there is. It fades from human vision after a while, but I can see it.” Connor said, following the traces of the vibrant blue blood that led him all around the city. He was led blocks away, narrowly avoiding slipping on the slick, icy sidewalks. 

Throughout his journey, taken slowly to avoid missing any small trace of thirium, he found himself moving more lethargically as time went on. He knew, logically, that androids naturally slowed down the longer they were exposed to such cold temperatures, but he forced himself to keep going. He knew spending time in the snow with Sumo before leaving didn’t help at all. 

He reached down and dipped his fingers into one of the thirium traces, sticking it onto his tongue. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that his tongue had stuck to his metal fingers. He tried to rip it away, but it stuck firm. 

He spotted the android that he thought was at fault and ran after it, but he found that he was too slow to gain on it at all. He froze in horror and made a soft noise of frustration as he ripped particularly hard and finally pulled his fingers free from his tongue. 

Now what he was going to do?

He felt awful. He wasn’t cold, but he knew he was lethargic because he was cold. He wanted to call Hank for help, but he didn’t want to wake the lieutenant. He didn’t feel up to facing Gavin’s ridicule for letting the android get away if he went back to the crime scene. 

So, he found himself wandering the streets of detroit, cold and miserable.

-

It was 8 AM when Hank arrived at the crime scene. He would never admit it, but the only reason he arrived so early was because he was worried about Connor.

“Where’s Connor?” He asked. Gavin shrugged and looked down at his phone.

“No clue. He left at like four thirty to chase down the suspect and we haven’t seen him since.” Gavin said. Hank froze, worried and angry. Instantly, horrible possibilities flashed through his head; Connor, lying somewhere, bleeding out or dead after being a victim of anti-android violence, Connor, scared and lost, Connor, captured by an organized crime group and being held hostage. Connor, being hit by a car that he didn’t see coming.

“And you didn’t think to, oh, I don’t fucking know, look for him?!” Hank asked. Gavin looked up and shook his head, and if Hank wasn’t so worried about Connor, he would have pummeled the younger detective then and there.

Instead, he took out his phone, dialing Connor’s number.

Connor had never been more relieved to get a phone call from Hank. He never actually carried his phone since he would talk and send text messages instantly.

“Hank.” Connor breathed in relief, and Hank had never been more relieved to hear Connor’s voice.

“Connor, son, are you okay? Where are you?” Hank asked. 

“I’m… I’m cold.” Connor muttered. Hank frowned and stayed silent for a moment.

“I thought androids couldn’t get cold?” He asked.

“Well, they can’t feel the cold, but prolonged exposure to cold temperatures slows down our processors and internal components. I can’t move, Hank, I’m scared.” Connor replied. Hank swore under his breath and moved towards his car.

“Where are you, son? I’m gonna come get you.” Hank said, ignoring Gavin’s protests as he got in his car.

“I can’t see the street signs from where I am, but I am in an alley between a Wal-Mart and a clothes store because I wanted to get out of the snow. I can see a park, but not the one the case was in. I can see an old cyberlife store across the street, and I can see a shopping mall attached to the cyberlife store.” Connor described. Hank nodded and drove around in an attempt to find an area like the one Connor had described. He turned up the heater in the car to give it time to warm up.

“Alright, Connor. I want you to stay on the phone with me and let me know if I pass by where you are, okay?” Hank said. 

“Okay, Hank.” Connor answered softly. Hank stayed silent for several minutes before he jumped.

“Wait, Hank, stop, I can see you!” Connor had suddenly exclaimed, the first sound from the android in several minutes. Hank pulled to the side of the road the first chance he got and exited his car.

“Connor?” He called out, going in the direction he had come from. He eventually came across the alley Connor had described and darted down it, his heart breaking when he saw how scared and cold Connor looked.

“Oh, Connor.” He breathed, crouching down in front of the android. Connor looked up at Hank and whimpered.

“I’m scared, Hank. My body shut down my movement processors to conserve energy to use to keep more crucial processors going. It’ll come back once I’m warmed up enough, but I’m scared.” Connor said. Hank sighed sadly and reached forward, lifting Connor into his arms. Though it was a struggle, he wanted to get Connor to the warm car as soon as he possibly could. He stumbled back to the car, struggling to keep ahold of the freezing android. 

Hank set Connor in the backseat of the car to give him room to stretch out. He reached over and grabbed the blanket he kept in the backseat for Connor, tucking it tightly around Connor. He tried to pull away to go drive them home, but stopped when he heard a soft sniffle. When he looked over, he saw that Connor was crying.

“Please don’t leave, Hank.” Connor pleaded meekly, and Hank resisted to urge to climb into the backseat and cuddle Connor senseless.

“I’m not going to leave, Connor, I promise. I’m just going to drive us home so we can get you warmer. This car’s heater can only do so fucking much when you basically have the android version of hypothermia.” Hank said. Connor looked up before nodding and letting Hank get into the driver’s seat. 

As Hank started off towards their home, he kept glancing back through the rearview mirror. Though Connor hadn’t moved much, Hank was glad to see Connor wiggling his fingers about halfway through the journey.

“You going to be good until we get home?” Hank asked. Connor nodded and smiled reassuringly at Hank.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’m starting to gain movement capabilities.” Connor said. Hank nodded and looked back at the road.

“Now, why the hell didn’t you tell me about this? Do you know how often this could have happened to you during the investigation?” Hank asked.

“I wasn’t anticipating it. I thought I would be fine, but playing outside with Sumo caused me added exposure to the cold and made me become lethargic much sooner.” Connor explained.

“So, why didn’t you go back to the crime scene if you were getting tired?” Hank asked. 

“I wanted to catch the suspect.” Connor explained. Hank sighed in frustration.

“Connor, I don’t give a shit if you’re chasing someone or just looking for them. From now on, if you feel bad for any reason, you come straight back and get help. Got it?” Hank said. 

“Got it. I’m sorry.” Connor said. Hank glanced back and smiled gently.

“You don’t need to be sorry, son. Just remember to know your limits and when you need help.” Hank said. He pulled into the driveway and helped Connor inside, sitting him down on the couch and digging into the dresser than held Connor’s clothes. He pulled out the thickest sweatshirt he could find and a pair of soft sweatpants. He turned around to Connor.

“Do you think you can change into these on your own?” Hank asked. Connor looked down at himself and Hank knew that if his body wasn’t struggling to properly pump thirium through his body as it was, the android would be blushing.

“...No.” Connor eventually whispered. 

“Hey, that’s fine. I do want to get you out of those clothes and into these warmer clothes though, is it okay if I help you?” Hank asked. Connor slowly nodded and Hank was positive that the android would be blushing if he wasn’t so cold if he wasn’t before.

“Alright, that’s fine. No need to be embarrassed, Connor, shit like this happens sometimes.” Hank said, helping Connor remove his blazer and button-up shirt, pulling the sweatshirt over Connor’s head with a small smile.

“See? Not a big deal.” Hank said, tugging Connor’s dress shoes off and changing out the slacks for a pair of sweatpants. “There. Now, what blanket do you want?” Hank asked, moving over to Connor’s growing collection of soft blankets. 

“Can I have the green one and the yellow one?” Connor asked. 

“Of course you can, you don’t gotta fucking ask.” Hank said, grabbing the two blankets Connor had requested and tucking them around Connor. “You wanna cuddle Sumo?” He asked.

“Yes please.” Connor said. Hank smiled and called the dog over, patting the couch until Sumo jumped up and laid next to Connor, half on his lap. Hank sat on the other side and smiled when Connor leaned against him.

“Don’t you have to go into the precinct?” Connor asked. Hank snorted and ran his hands through Connor’s hair.

“Kid, if you think for a second I’m going to leave you alone when you feel so goddamn miserable, you have another thing coming.” Hank said. Connor nodded and stayed still, slowly gaining the ability to move. When he was able to, he wrapped his arms around Hank and leaned close. 

“Connor, you need to tell me about things like this from now on, and next time we go out, you’re wearing weather-appropriate clothes.” Hank said. 

“Alright, Hank.” Connor said softly.

-

“Is it possible for androids to sleep? I know they don’t need to, but can they if they want to?” Hank asked after several minutes. He noticed Connor struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Well, we can if we wanted to. I’ve never tried it outside of repairs, though.” Connor said. “Why?”

“Because you look like you’re struggling not to fall asleep.” Hank said. “Maybe you should try to sleep. It might be relaxing, you never know.” Hank said. Connor blinked and nodded, resting his head on Hank’s chest as he shifted so that he was more comfortable. Hank smiled and wrapped his arms securely around Connor.

“Go to sleep, kiddo.” He said softly. Connor looked up at Hank and tilted his head like a puppy. 

“Will you please stay with me?” Connor asked shyly. Hank smiled gently and tightened his grip on Connor. He knew that Connor was usually so shy to ask for anything he needed, and was physically incapable of asking for anything he wanted. He could understand how Connor felt safer around Hank, and likely felt far more vulnerable since he had been so scared just a short time ago.

“Of course, Connor. I’ll stay here if you want me to.” Hank assured. He could resist a grin when he saw Connor fall into sleep, turning the TV on a low volume to entertain himself since he knew he wouldn’t be moving for awhile, given that he had a sleeping android on top of him, and a 180 pound beast of a saint bernard on top of the android.

Hank pulled the blanket up to Connor’s chin and smiled gently, settling in for the long haul.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr legendary-marmorans if you wanna request a prompt or just chat!


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